June 7, 2006 – The U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association (USSA) has named Richard Coe as its new chief operating officer, according to USSA President and CEO Bill Marolt. Coe will replace Bill Gorton who has been scheduled to leave USSA July 15. Gorton had served in that role since 1996.

Coe is a retired Air Force colonel who served in many diverse positions worldwide during a 20-year military career, as well as a 16-year career as a commercial airline pilot and board member of the Air Line Pilots Association. He served as a consultant to USSA leading up to and during the Torino Olympics, calling on his many years of experience of working with the military and U.S. government in Italy – a valuable asset for USSA’s ability to work effectively at a major event in a foreign country.

“Dick is a very experienced manager who is coming into our program at USSA at a very important time,” said Marolt. “I’m excited about his enthusiasm in coming to USSA and bringing his global management experience to help benefit our athletes.”

According to Marolt, Coe brings to USSA a multi-faceted management background. He has a strong expertise in organizational strategy development, employee relations, contract negotiation and fiscal management. He also has a wealth of experience in public communications. The position is responsible for managing the day-to-day operations of our growing company, as well as leading the planning for the future.

“I am truly enthusiastic about joining USSA,” said Coe. “I had a glimpse of the dedication and vision of the organization at the Olympics, and it is an honor to join the staff.

“I’ve tried to maintain a few central ideas in everything I have done,” Coe added. “First is my own integrity and accountability. Second is to commit fully to any organization I represent. Third is to balance my intensity and organization with an easy-going style of interaction – this is important, because people are vital to any organization and each is individually important.”

“Bill Gorton has done an outstanding job as COO since 1996,” said Marolt. “Bill’s development and management of our planning process has been one of the keys to our growth in the past decade. And his ability to keep us moving forward on development of our Center for Excellence and Training Center has put us in a position to continue to expand the services for our athletes in the next few years. We will miss him, for sure, but we’ve known for some time that he wished to move on after Torino and that’ll give us the time to pick the best possible replacement for this key position.”

“I’m proud of what we’ve been able to accomplish as a team at USSA,” said Gorton, who plans to remain active in his own business career. “Working together we’ve been able to develop a sound business planning process that has resulted in our ability to increase funding to athletics. The past 10 years have been memorable for me personally, but I had long ago set Torino as the time I would move on and turn over my role to a new and motivated manager. Dick will do a great job in that role.”

Dick and his wife Susie are beginning the transition from their home in Florida to Park City. He will attend USSA’s July 6-8 Foundation board meeting in Martha’s Vineyard and will be on hand for the annual USSA Partners Summit July 19-21 in Park City.